Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2010-11: Aaron Haydon attended USA Hockey’s Select 14 Festival in July before skating for the Belle Tire ’96 bantam team that captured the 2011 U14 national championship.

2011-12: Haydon participated in USA Hockey’s Select 15 Development Camp and skated for Belle Tire’s midget major U16 team. In 40 regular season games he scored 2 goal with 9 assists and 93 penalty minutes. He scored 3 goals with 3 assists and had 28 penalty minutes in seven playoff games. Haydon was selected by Niagara in the first round (20th overall) of the 2012 OHL Priority Draft.

2012-13: Haydon made the jump directly from midget minor hockey to major junior; skating for the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs as a 16-year-old. He played 42 regular season games — scoring 4 goals with 6 assists — and was -7 with 39 penalty minutes. Niagara finished fourth in the Central Division and lost to Oshawa in a first round playoff series. Haydon appeared in three playoff games and was -1 with 1 assist and 2 penalty minutes.

2013-14: Haydon returned to Niagara for his second OHL season after skating for the USA U18 team at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in August. In 61 regular season games he scored 5 goals with 11 assists and was -39 while finishing second to Anthony DiFruscia on the IceDogs with 112 penalty minutes. Niagara finished fourth in the Central Division and took first-place North Bay to seven games in a first round series. Haydon was -4 with no points and 10 penalty minutes in the series. He had no points and was +1 with 10 penalty minutes in five games for the USA at the Ivan Hlinka Tournament. Haydon was named to the 2013 CCM/USA All-American Prospects Game and selected to Team Orr for the 2014 BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. He was ranked 54th amongst North American skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings and was selected by Dallas in the sixth round (154th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft.

Talent Analysis

Haydon is a strong skater, especially laterally, and defends well on the rush. His in-zone coverage has improved noticeably during his time in junior hockey. His puck skills seem to have plateaued and there is a lack of confidence when it comes to moving the puck. Haydon turns the puck over too often and his sense of timing is a work in progress. He is a tough competitor and has a strong desire to improve but is inconsistent.

Future

Haydon skated for Dallas in the 2014 Traverse City prospect tournament and attended his first NHL training camp with the Stars before returning to Niagara for the 2014-15 season. Now in his third OHL season, he had already exceeded his career-high in goals in a season with six by mid-December on a IceDogs team that was struggling to score goals and is near the bottom of the league standings. Long-term Haydon is not expected to be a big offensive contributor at the pro level but he has the potential to be an effective lower pairing defender. He also brings a physical element to his game and is steadily showing improvement. He is still a few years away from pushing for an NHL roster spot.

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Scorers and score stoppers make up the majority of the Dallas Stars’ junior prospect contingent. With goaltenders Philippe Desrosiers and Brent Moran in prominent roles out east and noteworthy scorers like Cole Ully and Brett Pollock in the west, the Stars are represented well across Canadian Major Juniors. Many of their prospects have moved on from junior programs at this point and, as a result, they have fewer players developing in the CHL.

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Photo: Curtis McKenzie, the AHL’s Rookie of the Year in 2013-14, will likely split his time between the AHL and NHL in 2014-15 (courtesy of Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images

The churning out of quality prospects continues for the Dallas Stars organization. General manager Jim Nill will be looked upon to continue to bolster a very strong and deep organizational depth chart that has few glaring weaknesses at this point in time. With the Texas Stars (AHL) contingent set to defend a title and the Dallas team looking to make a bigger playoff push, the pressure is on this impressive group of youngsters.

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Photo: Niagara IceDogs defenseman and Dallas Stars prospect Aaron Haydon did not have as strong a season as expected in 2013-14 but still had his name called at the 2014 NHL Draft (courtesy of Terry Wilson/OHL Images)

Chock full of high-end prospects and support-level players as well, the Dallas Stars organization features an eclectic mix of young players eager to take another step towards a National Hockey League career. One need not look further than the first three players on their big board without realizing the diverse blend of talent in the system: an athletic goaltender, a fluid, young two-way defenseman and a burgeoning power forward. General manager Jim Nill and his staff must be brimming with pride and excitement as their prospect group embarks upon another developmental year. Read more»

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Photo: Jack Campbell helped lead the Texas Stars to a Calder Cup championship in 2013-14. He was drafted in the first round of the 2010 NHL Draft. (courtesy of Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images)

With already one of the league’s finest prospect pools, the Dallas Stars left the 2014 NHL Draft with the first bluechip defensive prospect they have had in quite some time. In all, four 2014 draftees make the list, three of which man the blueline. After such a defense-heavy draft, the prospect pool is becoming more balanced and deep at all positions.

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Photo: Finnish blueliner Julius Honka, the Stars’ 14th overall selection, led rookie WHL defensemen in scoring with 56 points in 62 games for Swift Current (courtesy of Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

With nine selections in hand, the Dallas Stars went to work and did not step too far out of their comfort zone. An organizational need was addressed in the first round, and nearly every subsequent round after, as the Stars selected seven defensemen, one goaltender and one forward. Read more»